It is never a surprise when a young star, especially one with somewhat of a feisty temper, gets under the skin of opposition players.
An aggressive Castres side were unable to get the better of Northampton on Friday night, 49-41 the final scoreline in a close game in favour of the Saints as tempers flared throughout the Champions’ Cup game.
Casters winger Christian Ambadiang was a pivotal player in the opening stages—getting a try, vital interception and stopping another Saints try attempt to put the away side up by 15-14 at half time, before the home side managed to steady their performance and walk away winners by a margin of eight points.
Henry Pollock involved in multiple incidents during Champions’ Cup matchup
Henry Pollock has been a vital part of the Saints’ setup in the Champions Cup so far, having played in all four of the pool stage games for his team as a number 8, scoring three tries—with two coming against a strong Bordeaux team who went undefeated in the group.
He has also become a prominent name off-field, having recently signed to Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom talent agency as their second ever signing after boxing star Tom Aspinall. This success is no part in thanks to his blooming England career as he aims to be part of the next generation to bring his nation success on the international stage.
Known as somewhat of an aggravator—illustrated well in the Challenge Cup Final that Saints played against Bordeaux last season—Top 14 side Castres allowed the youngster to get the mental edge in a couple of scuffles between the Saints forward and their own.
The first incident took place within the opening 15 minutes of the match, as Pollock attempted to take the ball for a quick restart via the means of ripping it out of a Castres player’s hands, only to be involved in a shoving match following his attempt to restart play.
No punishments were dished out, with the following incident perhaps a result of the lack of cards shown for the first signs of aggression—as Castres lock Guillaume Ducat barged into Pollock illegally as play begun to break down, resulting in a ten-minute sin bin for the Frenchman.
A final incident occurred as opposing fly-half Enzo Hervé appeared to clap in the face of Pollock as the 21-year-old misplaced a pass, resulting in commentator Lawrence Dallaglio stating that Hervé was committing “unnecessary, unsporting conduct there—you’re better than that, young man” after the incident occurred.
